This foxnews article is very odd — first they acknowledge the fracking earthquake issue being the lone cause of the THOUSANDS of earthquakes in the region, then they put a Foxnews PRO-OIL spin on the end that is fairly inaccurrate:

Accurate USGS quote:

“All of the areas where increased seismicity has been detected “are located near deep fluid injection wells or other industrial activities capable of inducing earthquakes,” the USGS said.“

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Inaccurate editorial at the end of the article putting a pro-oil spin on the news:

Quote:

“The USGS, however, downplayed the role of fracking in the increased seismic activity.

“Many questions have been raised about whether (fracking) is responsible for the recent increase of earthquakes. USGS’s studies suggest that the actual hydraulic fracturing process is only occasionally the direct cause of felt earthquakes.” EFE
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Above: January 2012 diagram shows 7 days of earthquake activity vs. the shale gas plays, and the craton edge. The earthquakes were (and still are) occurring at most fracking / oil operations including Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, and the Dakotas (all fracking or oil well operations)

“These earthquakes are occurring at a higher rate than ever before and pose a much greater risk to people living nearby. The USGS is developing methods that overcome the challenges in assessing seismic hazards in these regions in order to support decisions that help keep communities safe from ground shaking,” the release said.

All of the areas where increased seismicity has been detected “are located near deep fluid injection wells or other industrial activities capable of inducing earthquakes,” the USGS said….”

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Editorial from dutchsinse:

The USGS is not downplaying anything, their statement is accurate, fracking is only occasionally the DIRECT cause of FELT earthquakes.

“Direct” and “Felt” are specific terms , which are a geologists / seismologists form of lawyer-speak legalese — a quick getaround which allows for these professionals to ride both sides of the fence on this issue.

Direct would mean there are no other confirmed possible causes for the event, which we can never fully rule out due to natural pressure always being released, so technically they are not saying anything incorrect.

Felt means that reports are made by people to the USGS — there can be large earthquakes which occur deep enough that they’re not normally felt by people, but still considered “larger” events. Also, swarms can strike in areas where few people live, or few people report the event – thus again the USGS is ‘correct’ when they say some might not be “felt”.

Why would the USGS play word games?!

On one side of the fence we have the reality that fracking is causing a serious amount of earthquakes (more earthquakes of noteworthy size in Oklahoma than the entire West coast combined — dozens of 4.0M+ upwards of 5.7M in 2011-2015).

On the other side of the fence we have the people paying most of the bills in the geology / seismology field of science.

The petroleum companies, government agencies, and the schools which support these institutions are all beholden (to some degree) to the entities which finance them.

It is very rare to find an independent researcher who can be heard above their collective fascist voice of “PAID FOR” science.

I fought for years bringing fracking earthquake information to the forefront, complete with attacks on my character, my videos, website posts, and even on basic data which all parties accept as factual. All was met by an army of paid for fake online “shills”. Robot commenters, and public relations firms hired by the Oil / Gas companies to pose as common online commenters who “support” fracking.

Above: April 10 2014 — Approximately 1 year ago we saw the same problems we’re seeing now, only difference between then and now (2015) is that most people now accept fracking causes earthquakes. Some still deny the earthquakes happening directly below the fracking operations are related, but with satellite picture proof of the earthquake epicenter, we only see the paid industry pets actually still deny fracking causes large earthquakes

Now that the companies are losing money, they’re not spending as much on the PAID PETS they hire to deny these things, plus their money isn’t going as far when it comes to paying off officials — thus we are now seeing new moves by Oklahoma + Texas to literally ban their citizens from having a say in fracking at all — even in their own towns!!!!

If you don’t like the idea of state legislatures BANNING their own citizens from being able to decide what happens in their own towns, with their own land, in regards to an issue that causes 4.0M – upper 5.0M earthquakes which can damage the whole region, not just Oklahoma.

We’re not talking about a small town getting damage.. we’re talking about the entire region of Oklahoma, Kansas, Southern Colorado, Texas, and now Nebraska as well.

All these states, plus the adjacent states who are not doing any oil / fracking operations could receive damage from these operations. Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Northern Colorado, and Nebraska just to name a few nearby states that will most certainly see earthquake movement due to these operations in Oklahoma + Texas.

A 4.0 magnitude earthquake is equal to approximately 1 kiloton of TNT (or a small nuclear bomb).

Still running the gambit of half truths, what else can we expect from the news agencies who are bought and paid for by big oil and the like. So sorry that all your hard work is wasted on these fools. You have a following of true believers who have stood by you all this time and will remain by your side no matter what.